The growth of social media and its integration into our lives
and the workplace continues to evolve. Over the last decade, courts
and arbitrators have consistently held that inappropriate social
media postings may warrant disciplinary action, even if the content
is posted while an employee is off-duty. Employees may face
disciplinary action, up to and including termination, when they
post content on public social media websites that damage the
reputation of the employer and/or its employees.
In MacKinnon v Helpline Inc., 2015 NBQB 159, the
employer terminated an employee for cause. The underlying issue was
the fact that the employee had exchanged emails and
"private" Facebook messages with a local reporter that
were viewed by the employer to be damaging to its reputation and a
breach of confidentiality.
